The present invention generally relates to an improvement in workflow development for image processing. Specifically, the present invention relates to workflow engine-based dynamic modification of image processing and presentation in a picture archiving and communication system.
Picture archiving and communication systems (“PACS”) connect to medical diagnostic imaging devices and employ an acquisition gateway (between the acquisition device and the PACS), storage and archiving units, display workstations, databases, and sophisticated data processors. These components are integrated together by a communication network and data management system. A PACS has, in general, the overall goals of streamlining health-care operations, facilitating distributed remote examination and diagnosis, and improving patient care.
A typical application of a PACS system is to provide one or more medical images for examination by a medical professional. For example, a PACS system can provide a series of x-ray images to a display workstation where the images are displayed for a radiologist to perform a diagnostic examination. Based on the presentation of these images, the radiologist can provide a diagnosis. For example, the radiologist can diagnose a tumor or lesion in x-ray images of a patient's lungs.
However, before a user is able to view images on a display workstation, the images may undergo preprocessing and processing. In other words, preprocessing and processing functions are applied to images before a user views the images. For example, when raw image data (image data that is received from an imaging modality and has not undergone any preprocessing or processing) is initially received by a PACS system, one or more preprocessing functions are applied to the raw image data. Typically, the preprocessing functions applied to raw image data are modality-specific enhancements. Modality-specific enhancements can include, for example, contrast or frequency compensation functions specific to a particular x-ray imaging device. For example, contrast preprocessing functions may be characterized by the following parameters: GT (contrast type), GA (rotation amount of GT curve), GC (rotation center for GT), and GS (density shift, the amount of shifting applied to GT). The frequency preprocessing functions may be characterized by the following parameters: RN (frequency rank), RE (frequency enhancement), and RT (frequency type). Each preprocessing function may represent a linear or non-linear function, function modification, or function parameter. The preprocessing functions may be applied to raw image data any time prior to the image processing and display.
The preprocessing functions may be selected based, for example, on an anatomical region to which the raw image data corresponds. In other words, the preprocessing functions selected may vary depending on whether the raw image data represents, as examples, the head, neck, chest, abdomen, breast, lungs, pelvis, or shoulders. The preprocessing functions may vary for each anatomical region due to the differences in tissue, bone, and blood vessel density and prevalence.
Once the image data has been preprocessed, a user can access the image data from a display workstation. However, the user may desire to apply additional processing functions to the image data. The user may want to apply additional processing functions to the image data in order to optimize the images to the user's preferred confidence level for making an accurate diagnosis. For example, the user may wish to flip an image, zoom into a portion of an image, pan across an image, adjust a window and/or level in an image, or adjust a brightness and/or contrast of an image based on his or her own preferences.
PACS systems attempt to prepare images for viewing by users by applying a series of processing steps or functions included in a Default Display Protocol (“DDP”). A DDP is a default workflow that applies a series of image processing functions to image data to prepare the image data for presentation to a user. DDPs typically include processing steps or functions that are applied before any diagnostic examination of the images. A DDP may be based on a type of imaging modality used to obtain the image data, for example. In general, a DDP attempts to present image data in a manner most useful to many users.
However, a user may wish to alter the processing steps in a DDP or add additional processing steps to a DDP. For example, a user may wish to apply additional processing steps to image data in order to enhance one or more features in the image. The user must manually select the processing steps and alter or apply them to the image data. The manual selection of processing steps takes up a considerable amount of time. In current PACS systems, for example, radiologists spend a majority of their time within an examination manually processing the images (for example, by flipping, zooming, panning, adjusting a window/level setting and/or a brightness/contrast setting). Even with the DDPs that may establish initial viewport settings and window/level presets, for example, radiologists typically must still process the images to optimize them to the radiologists' preferred confidence levels for making an accurate diagnosis. In addition, frequently radiologists apply the same processing functions to similar image data. For example, a radiologist may always apply a particular processing function to image data obtained from a certain imaging modality.
With increasing volumes of examinations and images, a reduction of radiologists and mounting pressures on improved productivity, radiologists are in dire need of image processing workflow enhancements that alleviate rote, repetitive tasks. Such enhancements can include the dynamic modification of DDPs so as to incorporate processing functions routinely selected by a radiologist, for example. In other words, an improvement could be DDPs that can be modified to incorporate a processing function frequently selected by a given radiologist for a certain type of image, for example. The modified DDP could then automatically process subsequent image data according to the processing functions routinely selected by the radiologist. The radiologist would not have to manually select the addition of processing steps as they have been incorporated into the DDP.
As such, these enhancements would allow radiologists to more quickly obtain images that are automatically processed to their individual preferences. By providing images that are automatically processed to a user's preferences, the user may then focus the majority of their time on the primary task of diagnosis. However, current PACS systems do not provide for such enhancements.
Therefore, a need exists for the dynamic modification of workflow engine-based image processing and presentation in PACS. Such dynamic modification can allow for the repeated updating of a default image processing workflow (such as a DDP, for example) according to processing steps or functions that are repeatedly selected by one or more users, for example. As described above, by dynamically modifying default image processing workflows, users can spend less of their time repeatedly selecting the same processing steps and more of their time providing diagnosis.